660 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



in growing, under aerolric conditions, certain strictly anaerobic sapro- 

 phytes obtained from the intestinal contents of dogs and from putrefying 

 human bodies, and which from their morphological relationship with 

 the Tetanus bacillus he denotes as the group of Pseudo-tetanus bacilli ; 

 he also obtained good results with B. tetani and with the bacillus of 

 symptomatic anthrax. The medium is prepared as follows : — A mouse, 

 guinea-pig or rabbit is killed, opened aseptically, and with sterile forceps 

 and scissors, pieces of liver, spleen, kidney, etc., are cut out, and placed 

 in an equal number of tubes of broth and agar ; these are incubated at 

 37° C. for two days and the contaminated tubes are discarded. He 

 found that if a piece of fresh tissue was placed in a tube of broth, 

 and after a few hours was taken out again, and the tube then inoculated 

 with an anaerobic germ, the conditions were as favourable for its 

 growth as if the portion of tissue were still present in the medium. 



Difference of Behaviour of Bacillus typhosus and B. coli com- 

 munis in Media containing Sulphate of Copper and Red Prussiate 

 of Potash.* — A. Marrassini and R. Schiff-Giorgini find that nutrient 

 broth, or broth and glycerin to which is added copper sulphate in pro- 

 portions varying from ^oV o to rgW i s quite decolorised by B. coli com- 

 munis, and the medium rendered turbid, while when B. typhosus is 

 sown therein no change takes place. An analogous reaction is observed 

 when ferricyanide of potash, in the proportion of 2-5 p.c, is added to 

 the medium. Here, after incubation at 37° C. for 48 hours, the medium 

 inoculated with typhoid retains its greenish-yellow hue, while that in 

 which B. coli communis has been sown has turned green, the colour 

 becoming intensified as time goes on. The colour is due to the formation 

 of a blue precipitate, and the precipitate to the production of lactic acid 

 by the Coli organisms. 



(2) Preparing Objects. 



Fixing and Staining Nuclei.f — In his researches on the testing 

 nucleus and mitosis, K. v. Tellyesniczky makes special reference to the 

 effect of fixatives. As good fixatives are distinguished Flemming's 

 strong solution and a mixture of 100 c.cm. 3 p.c. potassium bichromate 

 and 5 c.cm. acetic acid. The sections were mordanted for 24 hours in 

 saturated solution of copper acetate, then washed and stained in 1 p.c. 

 hematoxylin solution for 24 hours, and finally differentiated in Wei- 

 gert's decoloriser. 



Fixation and Staining Muscle Fibres.J — G. Schlater fixed em- 

 bryos of the fowl in Hertwig's fluid, which consists of chromic acid 

 (1 p.c.) 150 c.cm. ; saturated solution of sublimate, 150 c.cm. ; glacial 

 acetic acid, 15 c.cm. ; formalin (40 p.c.) 50 c.cm. ; distilled water, 

 135 c.cm. Paraffin sections of the material were stained with Heiden- 

 hain\s iron-hfematoxylin. 



Demonstrating Blood Formation in Osseous Fishes.§ — H. Marcus 

 fixed the eggs of GoUus capito in Carnoy's fluid (6 parts alcohol, 3 parts 

 chloroform, and 1 part acetic acid) for 2-3 hours. After about an 



* Atti Soc. Toscana Sci. Nat., xiv. (1905) pp. 174-7. 



t Archiv Mikrosk. Anat. u. Entwickl., lxvi. (1905) pp. 367-433 (5 pis.). 



X Tom. cit., pp. 440-68 (3 pla.). § Tom.cit., pp. 333-54 (1 pi.). 



